Salisbury council defers action on pay raises

SALISBURY – The mayor of Delmarva’s largest city already works full time, and now it’s time for the salary to reflect that reality, the head of the City Council says.

Council President Jake Day deferred action before the board Monday night on what he called an “incremental” pay raise for future council members and mayors, saying the city needs to do more for its top elected official.

“We essentially have a half-time job in terms of salary, but I think this should be compensated at a full-time rate,” Day said.

The legislation would have increased the mayor’s annual salary from $25,000 to $28,000, the council president’s from $12,000 to $13,200 and council members’ from $10,000 to $11,200. The raises wouldn’t take effect until after the next election in November 2015.

A City Charter-mandated compensation committee recommended the raises in December 2012.

The council seemed to be heading toward a 2-2 deadlock on the measure, with Day and Councilman Tim Spies against it and councilwomen Laura Mitchell and Shanie Shields speaking in its favor. Councilwoman Terry Cohen was absent.

Day helped move the action forward last month to legislative session, but his sentiments tonight didn’t exactly represent a reversal of position. He remained in favor of the raises, but this time he said they didn’t go far enough for the mayor.

Jim Ireton, mayor since 2009, works part-time as an elementary school teacher. He isn’t looking for any more compensation now than what the committee recommended, he said.

“I think the $28,000 was appropriate,” said Ireton, who was at the legislative session earlier but had left before the salary discussion. But “as the city grows there will added responsibilities, increased population and incredible oversight that citizens and the media will expect from the chief executive of the city. If full time doesn't come now, it can't be far off.”

Day suggested postponing the salary measure until the annual budget discussions, which begin Thursday.

Shields said it’s time for a raise for the city’s elected officials. The council and mayoral salaries have only been raised once in 19 years, she and other advocates said.

What’s more, Shields said, the council is expected to do more than when she first joined in 2005. The city has added an additional work session for a total of four monthly meetings, and those sessions themselves have tended to last much longer.

Salaries should remain unchanged to encourage altruism, Spies said.

“They should be able to come out and do it for a nominal sum,” he added.

Day’s proposal would represent a significant shift in the way the mayor’s office has been traditionally managed. As recently as 2005, the mayor earned $10,000 a year.

Barrie Tilghman, the mayor at the time, could afford to put in extra time because she was retired, Day said. But Ireton doesn’t have that luxury.

In other business, the council agreed to contribute $10,000 toward the Fourth of July fireworks display organized by a volunteer group. Of that, $9,000 will go toward this year’s display and $1,000 will help create an endowment fund for future Independence Day pyrotechnics.